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Leading multiplex chain INOX Leisure Ltd. announced on Wednesday that it is all set to live screen matches from <keyword id="5929" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="fifa-world-cup" source="Orion">FIFA World Cup</keyword> <keyword id="6355203" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="qatar" source="Orion">Qatar</keyword> 2022 across its 22 multiplexes in 15 cities in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>. The move means that football fanatics can watch the matches at INOX multiplexes in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Pune, <keyword id="826" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="goa" source="Orion">Goa</keyword>, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Kolkata, Siliguri, Surat, Indore, Vadodara, Dhanbad, and Thrissur, adding to the FIFA Football <keyword id="22177" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="world-cup" source="Orion">World Cup</keyword> frenzy in India. The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 began on November 20, with the Round of 16 kicking off on December 2, with the final scheduled for December 18. 32 of the best international teams in the world will battle it out to win the coveted title. The tournament unarguably produced one of the biggest shocking results in the history of the competition when Saudi Arabia defeated a Lionel Messi-led Argentina 2-1 in a Group C match at the Lusail Iconic Stadium on Tuesday. "There are certain things that bring people together in our country, and sports is one of them. We are thrilled to bring the most-awaited sporting event, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, to the big cinema screens at INOX." "With this initiative, we aim to provide our patrons with an opportunity to create unforgettable experiences and memories while feeling the pulsating energy as if one were in the stadium itself. We are proud to take our content innovation journey forward with sports, through this historic screening. We look forward to welcoming our guests and letting them soak in an immersive football-viewing fun at INOX," said Alok Tandon, Chief Executive Officer of INOX Leisure Limited. INOX had earlier signed an agreement with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to live screen all matches played by India in the eighth edition of the Men's T20 World Cup in Australia in October-November, where the side reached the semi-finals, before losing to England by ten wickets. They also live screened India's matches in Asia Cup 2022 in the UAE in September. The cinema chain is also the Official Sponsor of the Indian Olympic Association. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/news/no-alcohol-intake-strict-dress-code-us-uk-issue-advisory-for-fifa-world-cup-in-qatar/slidelist/95715119.cms">No alcohol intake, strict dress code: US, UK issue advisory for FIFA World Cup in Qatar</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/bjyus-amul-viacom18-jio-cinema-sbi-more-indian-brands-powering-the-fifa-world-cup-2022/slidelist/95712435.cms">Amul, BJYUs, Jio Cinema &amp; more: Indian brands powering the FIFA World Cup 2022</a>

INOX to screen matches of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 live in its cinema halls in India

<ul><li><keyword id="2609426" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="farzi" source="Orion">Farzi</keyword>, by director duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, is a crime thriller starring Shahid Kapoor and Vijay Sethupathi in lead roles. </li><li>To date, Raj and DK have written 8 movies (directing 7 of them) and 2 shows, of which The Family Man is the most successful. </li><li>They also have three highly anticipated series in the pipeline - Guns &amp; Gulaabs, Gulkanda Tales, and the Indian adaptation of Citadel. </li></ul>When TVF’s Pitchers released on YouTube in 2015, it was one of the first original Indian web series to truly go viral - the feat didn’t repeat till Netflix released The Sacred Games in 2018. Today, OTT platforms in India are a dime a dozen. And every platform has a host of shows, original movies, docuseries, mockumentaries, and whatnot on offer. Only a handful of these projects, however, leave a mark on the audience. Going by the critics’ reviews and fan comments, the crime thriller Farzi, by director duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK aka Raj &amp; DK, is well on its way to becoming one such show. Farzi marks the OTT debut of actor Shahid Kapoor and the Hindi-language debut of Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi. It chronicles the journey of a talented sketch artist, Sunny (played by Kapoor) who produces counterfeit money to initially save his grandfather - but later, succumbs to the greed of easy money. Sethupathi, meanwhile, plays a sassy cop with a penchant for personal mess and professional success- similar to Raj and DK’s other talented spy, Srikant Tiwari from their hit series The Family Man. Farzi also stars Kay Kay Menon, Raashii Khanna and Bhuvan Arora in pivotal roles, along with brief but important cameos by Zakir Hussain, Kubbra Sait and Amol Palekar, among others. Though the concept is a tad more common and predictable than their other projects, Farzi still manages to hook your interest - thanks to impeccable performances. The eight-episode-long series released on Amazon Prime Video on February 10 and is <a href="https://twitter.com/rajndk/status/1625478730465570817/photo/3">trending worldwide – it’s </a>in the Top Ten on Prime in Australia, the US, the UK, UAE, Singapore and Canada Littered with references to The Family Man and even a minute callback to their earlier film 99, Farzi makes for a memorable addition to Raj and DK’s filmography, and their spy universe. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Delivering eclectic content since 2003" comment="subhead2" text="Delivering eclectic content since 2003">Delivering eclectic content since 2003</cmsannotation> Raj and DK made their debut with the romantic comedy Flavours in 2003. Today, their filmography includes a sci-fi romantic comedy (Glitch), India’s first zombie-comedy (Go Goa Gone), and a nuanced crime-drama (Shor in the City), among others. What’s common across their projects is an acute understanding of the world their protagonists inhabit - be it the working-class professionals who hate Mondays in Go Goa Gone or frustrated fathers caught between demanding children and bosses in The Family Man. In Farzi too, Kapoor’s mini monologue on the tragedy of being a middle-class Indian in the country has started doing the rounds on social media for being “relatable AF” - in the words of millennials and GenZs. Of course, the credit for this partially goes to the show’s co-writers, Suman Kumar and Sita Menon. Kumar also worked with the duo on The Family Man. But it’s also to do with how Raj and DK pursue a story - through detailed research, a healthy dose of sly humor, and in their own words, lots of writing: “Our writing process is extremely clinical – from the plot to the history of the characters, the screenplay – we want everything to be on paper. Also, we write a lot. Like a lot. We always want to have a lot of material to bounce things off. Some stories resurface because they were written for a different time. Sometimes two scripts merge to create something like Stree, which was in a different shape originally. The same goes for Family Man too,” shared DK <a href="https://www.gqindia.com/entertainment/content/the-family-man-raj-and-dk-interview">with GQ India</a>. Raj and DK produced Stree and also wrote the screenplay, with Sumit Arora writing the dialogues and Amar Kaushik directing the film. However, the duo has also pandered to commercialisation at times and indulged in overused tropes and cliches (for example, Happy Ending). While largely entertaining, none of their projects were as well-developed, and consequently as well-received, as Stree or The Family Man - arguably their most successful projects to date. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="An exciting line-up ahead" comment="subhead2" text="An exciting line-up ahead">An exciting line-up ahead</cmsannotation> So far, Raj and DK have written eight movies (directing seven of them) and two shows. Though half of their films failed at the box office, almost all of their projects have acquired a fan base – with few attaining commercial success and others falling into the category of cult cinema. The duo also has three highly anticipated series in the pipeline - Guns &amp; Gulaabs, Gulkanda Tales (written, not directed), and the Indian adaptation of Citadel. Guns &amp; Gulaabs, which includes the stellar ensemble cast of Rajkummar Rao, Dulquer Salmaan, Adarsh Gourav and Gulshan Devaiah, is yet another crime comedy. Meanwhile, Citadel is a science-fiction action-drama starring Varun Dhawan and Samantha Prabhu. The original American version has been created by the Russo Brothers (of Marvel fame) and stars Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra in lead roles. Just like the anti-hero of Farzi, few ‘artists’ in Bollywood possess the talent to break stereotypes and surpass tropes to create interesting content in a genre as cluttered as crime and comedy. Raj and DK are well on their way to not only attaining this tag but perhaps, even transitioning into auteurs - defining the genre, rather than just contributing to it. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/ai-powered-picasso-meet-the-robot-that-turns-your-words-into-art/articleshow/97939231.cms">AI-powered Picasso: Meet the robot that turns your words into art</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sustainability/news/heres-what-sustainable-fashion-includes-and-why-its-worth-caring-about/articleshow/97936674.cms">An ethical choice or just another fad? Here’s what sustainable fashion includes and why it’s worth caring about</a>

Farzi is the latest example of directors Raj & DK pushing novel content in Indian cinema

They say there is no business like the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Mid-year-assessment-It-was-a-roller-coaster-ride-for-Bollywood/articleshow/47830513.cms">movie business</a> and indeed every Friday we have at least one new movie tossed at the audience. And by Sunday, we get to know whether the movie will be a hit, a miss or just an average fare. 
	 
	So far, 2015 has been quite an interesting year from Bollywood’s perspective. Why I say so is because on one hand we had magnanimous opus like Baahubali achieving great success and on the other, there were small budget movies such as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Relive-the-90s-with-Dum-Laga-Ke-Haisha/articleshow/46395043.cms">Dum Laga Ke Haisha</a>, NH10 and Badlapur, that managed to swoon the audiences and the critics. 
	 
	Sequels like Tanu Weds Manu Returns managed to outshine their last offering and then we had Piku that conveyed human emotions in a brilliant way and also got the cash register ringing.
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Movie Name</td>
			<td>
				Budget</td>
			<td>
				Earning</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dum_Laga_Ke_Haisha">Dum Laga Ke Haisa</a></td>
			<td>
				Rs 15 Crore</td>
			<td>
				Rs 100 Crore</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badlapur_(film)">Badlapur</a></td>
			<td>
				Rs 25 Crore</td>
			<td>
				Rs 119 Crore</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NH10">NH10</a></td>
			<td>
				Rs 13 Crore</td>
			<td>
				Rs 32.1 Crore</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanu_Weds_Manu_Returns">Tanu Weds Manu Returns</a></td>
			<td>
				Rs 30 Crore</td>
			<td>
				Rs 252 Crore</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piku">Piku</a></td>
			<td>
				Rs 42 Crore</td>
			<td>
				Rs 141 Crore</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baahubali:_The_Beginning">Bahubali: The Beginning</a></td>
			<td>
				Rs 120 Crore</td>
			<td>
				Rs 600 Crore</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

	So should we conclude that the era for clichéd, formula-based movies, is coming to an end? 
	 
	Not really as in 2015, we had movies like Hero, Tevar, Roy, etc that banked on the predictable story line to woo the audience and managed to garner mixed acceptance. 
	 
	But, if we see a larger picture, new concepts with small budgets and strong script are doing well. 
	 
	The success of Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Tanu Weds Manu Returns and last year’s Queen hinted that directors and storytellers should venture with newer concepts to engage and entertain the audience. 
	 
	To this trend, Komal Nahata, trade analyst, said, “I would not like to say that there is a trend shift that is happening. From the past three-four years we have seen some small budget movies doing pretty well. The market for such films is also growing. Earlier they used to do well only in certain multiplexes, then it grew to few cities but now in pockets pan-India, they do well.” 
	 
	While it is true that there are quite a few experimental movies that are being screened, but multiple sources in the industry, on conditions of anonymity, told us that about 60-75% of the movies that go on the floor never see light of the day. 
	 
	 
	 
	A lot of these movies are actually finished products but fail to make it to cinema halls as the distributors are unwilling to buy them or the producer has lost confidence in the movie and does not want to spend more money in promoting them. 
	 
	Despite of the fact that some movies do well in global markets, they are not released in India. The movies that have found place in this list include Peddlers, The Coffin Maker, Dekh Indian Circus, etc. 
	 
	Mind you, not all of these shelved movies have lesser known faces as their star cast. The Coffin Maker stars Naseeruddin Shah while Nawazuddin Siddiqui features in Dekh India Circus. 
	 
	Siddiqui said, “It is rather unfortunate that a lot of content-oriented movies in India are still struggling to get funding in the country and there are a few completed projects that are not able to secure a release. Not just Dekh India Circus, there are a few more of my movies that are currently not released and I have started taking more commercial projects since last year with the hope that if I become a little more known face, it will be easier for my directors and producers to get the pending projects released.” 
	 
	And off-beat movies that managed to secure a release, had to face a tough time in the process. 
	 
	For instance, Shonali Bose’s “Margarita With a Straw”, which has Kalki Koechlin as the leading lady, garnered accolades at Toronto International Film Festival and Koechlin also bagged the best actress award at The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in 2014. After much delays, the movie finally released to Indian audience on April 17, 2015.
<div style="page-break-after: always;">
	&#xa0;</div>

	Unfortunately, not all the movies are lucky as this one. There are quite a few of these Bollywoods' lost children that fail to get a screen space in the midst of high-brow glitterati. 
	 
	I managed to see the world premiere of one such movie in the very heart of London’s film world. Being a movie enthusiast, I had heard a lot about London’s prestigious Raindance Film Festival and it was quite a coincidence that I managed to see a Bollywood movie listed as an `official selection’. 
	 
	Curiosity got the better of me and I reached just in the nick of the time to see ‘Peter Gaya Kaam Se’ (PGKS) (aka The Goa Run). The super plush Vue Cinema in Piccadilly Circus was almost full and the first theatrical screening for this lost Bollywood baby was a complete entertainment package. 
	 
	John Owens' action packed adventure tells the story of a motorcycle taxi driver from Goa (Rajeev Khandelwal) who falls in love with Mira, a beautiful and beguiling drug smuggler from London (Lekha Washington). This out and out commercial flick was originally produced by UTV Spotboys but got shelved and largely forgotten during Disneys' protracted takeover of the company. 
	 
	Director John Owen, who has worked in India for many years as one of MTV and Channel [V]’s head honchos, had penned and directed this story. The movie was shot extensively in Goa and took about a month to complete. It turns out that, the Raindance founder Elliot Grove took a personal interest in the film. 
	 
	 
	 
	Says Owen, "Raindance loved the film and were determined to host the world premiere, especially as I am the first Brit to direct a Bollywood film. A fact that makes me very proud. So when Disney finally gave permission I flew over to Mumbai, finished the sound work we had pending at my cost, did the subtitles myself and had a high end digital print made. The quality of the screening was just superb.” 
	 
	Raindance is in its 22nd year and has become one of the world’s premiere film festivals and very highly thought of by the industry itself. 
	 
	Owen adds, "We didn’t have any money to promote the screening so it was all word of mouth and the buzz of social media. People came from all over the country, it was amazing." 
	 
	Ironically, on the very same weekend Disney's Khoobsurat was premiering in the UK and I could see a theatre just across the street in London's Leicester Square showing it. 
	 
	When I put this point across to Owen, he chuckled and said, "It's funny because Shashanka Ghosh and I have been friends since our MTV days. I stayed with him when I was over in Mumbai fixing up the film in September and we joked about him being Disney's loved and me being their unloved child.” 
	 
	Given the response this movie managed to get sans any promotion and that too in London, I was curious to know what plans Owen or Disney have for this movie. Owen shared that some high-flying industry folks were amongst the excited audience and they saw real potential for the film in the UK and the US. 
	 
	No wonder, UK distributors are showing interest in the movie. Even in India PGKS is well-liked amongst industry insiders who were given personal screenings by the director. After all, the film does come with some pedigree. Anurag and Abhinav Kashyap were `creative producers' and UTV’s top producer on the job at the time was the visionary Vikas Bahl (who has given movies such as Chiller Party and Queen). So, what happens now to Peter Gaya Kaam Se? 
	 
	Owen picks on a philosophical note and shares, "It's all about love and timing. PGKS came along at the wrong time in the marriage of UTV and Disney. So, it’s the unwanted child. A bit like how Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire was for Warner Brothers. Warners’ just didn’t like the film so they let Danny go off and find a new home with Fox Searchlight. Fox loved the film, supported Danny, and made Slumdog a massive box office success. The film industry does not work like a science. Sometimes it comes down to personal taste. When I get depressed about the whole thing I think of Danny and Slumdog and get inspired all over again.” 
	 
	While Owen never had the resources or connections to find buyers for PGKS, on its own, he is looking to crowd funding and other ways to get this movie to be released.
<div style="page-break-after: always;">
	&#xa0;</div>

	It is noteworthy, that UTV Spotboys was the pioneer of small budget, content-oriented movies in India. 
	 
	Khosla Ka Ghosla was one of the first movies in this genre that was produced under UTV Motion Pictures. Later between 2008 and 2009, under the UTV Spotboys banner, they released movies such as Dev D, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Welcome to Sajjanpur, A Wednesday, Mumbai Meri Jaan and Aamir. All these movies managed to get a fair share of success at the ticket window. 
	 
	 
	 
	Another coincidence worth pointing out in the case of Peter Gaya Kaam Se is that it went on floor almost at the same time as Paan Singh Tomar. 
	 
	The latter, too, was produced by UTV Spotboys and managed to get a release on March 2, 2012, almost four years after it was complete and it managed to be a box office success largely due to word of mouth. 
	 
	The bigger coincidence is that Paan Singh Tomar, too, was premiered at the 2010 British Film Institute London, almost two years before its domestic release. 
	 
	We spoke to Rucha Pathak on why it was such a challenge to make a movie like Paan Singh Tomar. 
	 
	Pathak was the associate producer of Paan Singh Tomar and Sr. Creative Director at UTV (now Disney India) when this film was being made and is now Head of Creative &amp; Development at Fox Star Studios. 
	 
	“The main challenges we faced while trying to make Paan Singh Tomar was that because it was probably the first time a film like this was being made people did not realise what it was going to be like and it was therefore completely against the trend in those days,” she said. 
	 
	Also we could not help ask her if is it really possible to get any small budget movie out there in the market to which she answered, “It is difficult to release small and medium budget films these days but not impossible. I think if one can find the right marketing budget and the right target audience that you want to reach out to, then it’s possible to release a film. It is really critical these days to make films at the right budget and market films at the right budget. Once that is under control then I believe one can get a film out to reach an audience that it is meant for.” 
	 
	While Pathak emphasised on the budgeting bit, Nahata feels, “Exhibition or the release strategy is very detrimental to the business of content driven movies. The moment there is a big movie coming in, they are thrown out. Most such movies need time for the word of mouth to pick up.” 
	 
	
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The distributors today are looking for instant gratification. They would expect the movie to have 80 to 90% occupancy rates for its release Friday itself. If the movie does not show results by Sunday, then on Monday it is thrown out. This was not really the case earlier. I still remember when Maine Pyaar Kiya released, it had just one cinema hall in Mumbai, later when the word of mouth spread, the movie was given more space and it was a such a huge hit,” shares Ami Shah, co-founder and creative director of IntelliAssist (a company that has handled social media mandates for Bollywood movies). 
 
Indeed, distribution is one big challenge for small budget, content-oriented movies in India. However, Director Onir mentions that it is not the only one. Just to give you a perspective, Onir is an Indian film maker, who has churned out movies such as 'I AM, My Brother Nikhil’ and Bas Ek Pal. He had crowd funded his movie I AM, which released in 2010 and also bagged the national award for the same. 
 
Ask him if given a chance would he again crowd fund a movie or give any other director struggling for funds the same suggestion and he replies, “No it is one thing to make a movie and altogether another to get it to the cinema. Marketing a movie, especially a content-oriented one is a hard job.” 
 
I would agree with his point that it is tough nut to market a movie that does not have bankable stars. Like, Filmistaan, the 2014 movie was an endearing tale of wannabe actor, who gets kidnapped by terrorists and held in the home of a Pakistani who deals in pirated Hindi films. The tale captures how both of them bond over movies. 
 
The trailers of the movie looked very bland and I was not sure whether I would want to waste time watching this movie. Fortunately for me, one of my friend dragged me to this movie and I would admit that it was actually one of the best movies of 2014 that I managed to see and yes it did manage to win a national award as well. 
 
The cost of marketing in itself is quite high as well and it is not just important to buy ad space but also to connect right with your target audience. This is perhaps one lesson that the movie Queen managed to do well and of course the word of mouth helped it consolidate its position over a period of time. 
 
Onir also mentions that the government will have to play a greater role to help protect content-driven cinema in India. “The approach that our government takes is that they treat Bollywood as a business and not art. However, it will have to realize that like any art even movies need a bit of support”. In his opinion, there could be plenty of other avenues where movies can be showcased. 
 
Now talking about television, we have 24-hour movie channels that end up playing same movie almost every weekend. Most TV channels pick up movies that have done well on the box office, so that they don’t have to do much in terms of marketing and yet they can have good TRPs on their so-called “World Television Premiere”. It is a possibility that some of these movies that are left biting the dust, some might be ideal for the TV watching audience but so far these gems are not able to get any real support for this medium too. 
 
With the coming of 4G, it is expected that some of these movies might get a fresh lease of hope. There are producers and directors that are looking for alternative channels to monetize their movies via online ads and pay per view models. Currently none of them has been able to come out with a full proof plan and hence some great marvels of Hindi cinema continue to rot in their graves, while the others in the hands of resilient makers are fighting it hard to get to their audiences.

Meaningful Content in Indian Cinema: A Lost Battle?

He's 80 and going stronger than ever, spooling in celluloid miles' with the roles rolling in and directors still lining up to sign him on. <keyword id="6357912" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amitabh-Bachchan" source="Orion">Amitabh Bachchan</keyword>, they say, was and is still an exciting actor, perhaps the best there ever has been. From Ramesh Sippy who directed him in the 1975 cult film <keyword id="6407374" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sholay" source="Orion">Sholay</keyword> to Ayan Mukerji who helmed his latest Brahmastra 47 years later, <keyword id="6354348" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="bachchan" source="Orion">Bachchan</keyword> is the man for all seasons and all kinds of films. "What a wonderful innings it has been and he just keeps getting better. He has played so many varied roles in comedy, drama, romance, dancing and songs. He can do anything and everything perfectly. Has there been anybody bigger or better? I doubt it, Sippy told PTI as the star celebrates his 80th birthday on Tuesday. It's been just five days since his latest release Goodbye . "For me, to have Mr. Bachchan walk in my film is a big deal. He is the father of Indian cinema. He is the most respected person in the film industry, Mukerji added. Making his debut with the relatively low profile Saat Hindustani in 1969, remembered all these years primarily for serving as his launchpad, Bachchan exploded on the silver screen with <keyword id="31017" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="zanjeer" source="Orion">Zanjeer</keyword> in 1973. There was no looking back after that, and storytellers across five decades are still trying to decode the success of the man who keeps on reinventing himself - the angry young man' of Zanjeer , Don and Deewaar , the amiable, fun professor of Chupke Chupke and the conflicted singing star of Abhimaan in the 1970s. Then came the 1980s with films such as Shakti and Silsila . The 1990s saw a slump in Bachchan's career and many of films, including "Mrityudata" and "Lal Baadshah", tanked at the box office. Bachchan was back in the reckoning the following decade as a television host in Kaun Banega Crorepati in 2000. Twenty-two years later, the show is still running. This is also the time Bachchan transitioned into age appropriate characters in films. It started with Mohabbatein and continues with varied roles, be it Pink , Cheeni Kum or Jhund . Sippy recalled the casting for Sholay , which saw Bachchan and Dharmendra as two friends thick as thieves . "I had seen two of his earlier films -- Anand' in which he played a serious role, it was a difficult role and he stood out, and Bombay to Goa', where he played a lighter and a more boisterous role, which had impressed me a lot. We signed him. A few months later "Zanjeer" and "Deewar" released. By the time "Sholay" came, he was the rising star, the veteran filmmaker added. Sippy, who also worked with Bachchan in "Shakti", "Shaan" and "Akayla", said it is exciting to see the megastar recreate magic on screen, both the big and small even after all these years. There have been a lot of fine actors and there is absolute respect for all but he definitely stands above, he said.They may be in awe of him, but all of Bachchan's directors have experimented with the roles they offered him. R Balki, who first worked with Bachchan on an advertisement campaign, gave him "Cheeni Kum", where Bachchan is a 60-something arrogant chef romancing a much younger Tabu, and Paa that sees the star playing a 12-year-old boy afflicted with progeria. "Every filmmaker thinks of Mr Bachchan first, everybody would love to get a chance to work with him. We all came to the cinema being his fans. I was luckier than some people. I write my films for him. I have been searching for my next film for some years now," Balki told PTI. The filmmaker's other ventures -- Ki &amp; Ka , Pad Man and Chup: Revenge of the Artist -- feature the veteran star in a special appearance. There is one word to describe Amit ji and it is Amitabh Bachchan. There are no other words... It has become like a character itself. It has so much meaning, you can say persona, dignity, grace, powerful, voice, performance, everything being put together. There is a character called Amitabh Bachchan. That character is a rare phenomenon, Balki said. For new-age directors -- Ayan Mukerji and Ribhu Dasgupta -- the opportunity to direct Bachchan is nothing short of a dream. While Mukerji cast Bachchan as a guru in his astraverse, sci-fi film, Dasgupta directed Bachchan in the TV series "Yudh" (2014) and 2016 mystery-thriller Te3n . Dasgupta has tried hard to keep his fan boy self out of the picture. I come from Kolkata and we worship him there. There is an Amitabh Bachchan temple in Kolkata. But when I directed him, I had to keep the fan boy out. Also, sir knows everything, where the camera should be, what and where the light should be, etc. He sees what the person in front is doing," Dasgupta said. This year, Bachchan has already had three theatrical releases -- Nagraj Manjule-directed Jhund , Ajay Devgn's Runway 34 and Brahmastra . His latest film "Goodbye", directed by Vikas Bahl, opened on Friday. He is now awaiting the release of "Uunchai", directed by Sooraj Barjatya SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/google-pixel-7-and-pixel-7-pro-with-tensor-g2-chipset-launched-in-india-starting-at-59999/articleshow/94696867.cms">Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro with Tensor G2 chipset launched in India starting at ₹59,999</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-and-airtel-5g-prices-may-be-affordable-for-now-but-expected-to-increase-after-wider-rollout/articleshow/94636173.cms">Reliance Jio and Airtel 5G prices may be affordable for now but expected to increase after wider rollout</a>

Amitabh@80: Still a delight, keeps getting better, say directors old and new

<ul><li><keyword id="12756474" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="pathaan" source="Orion">Pathaan</keyword>, which led to the reopening of 25 single screens in India, is the latest example of the soft but significant power of movies. </li><li>After Zoya Akhtar’s <keyword id="6373898" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zindagi-Na-Milegi-Dobara" source="Orion">Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara</keyword> hit the screens, Spain became such a popular destination among Indian tourists that the country’s tourism increased by 65%. </li><li>However, the other side of the coin is the debilitating effect of massive tourists on preserved ecologies — such as Ladakh, India, or Dubrovnik, Croatia. </li></ul>Though the Indian film industry <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/epaper/delhicapital/2023/jan/24/et-front/at-10kcr-indian-box-office-scripts-a-blockbuster-in-2022/articleshow/97261901.cms">recorded </a>a gross box-office collection of ₹10,637 crore in 2022, the Hindi film industry struggled. While Telugu and Malayalam movies swept the awards and the audience, <keyword id="143" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="bollywood" source="Orion">Bollywood</keyword> delivered one dud after another. The year of 2023, however, started with <keyword id="1671" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="shah-rukh-khan" source="Orion">Shah Rukh Khan</keyword> starrer Pathaan heralding the winds of change. In less than a week of its release, Pathaan has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/srks-pathaan-sets-a-new-record-with-box-office-collection/articleshow/97366169.cms">broken multiple records</a> — and led to 25 single screens reopening in India. <a href="https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-special-features/pathaan-box-office-shah-rukh-khan-starrer-surpasses-kgf-2-emerges-fastest-rs-200-cr-grosser/">Reports </a>state it’s become the fastest Indian film to surpass ₹200 crore in box office collections in four days, beating even KGF 2 (five days) and Baahubali 2 (six days). However, neither is Pathaan the first film nor is SRK the first actor to leave a massive impact on an industry. Movies have long been impacting consumer choices, from fashion looks to tourism. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="From Switzerland to Spain, movies changed the landscape of tourism" comment="subhead2" text="From Switzerland to Spain, movies changed the landscape of tourism">From Switzerland to Spain, movies changed the landscape of tourism</cmsannotation> Yash Raj Films (YRF) was arguably one of the first Indian production houses to incidentally promote a country through its movies — primarily the snow-clad mountains of Switzerland. YRF’s saree-clad heroines may or may not have enjoyed dancing in the snow. Yet, tourists certainly flocked to the locations with gusto. The result — <a href="https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-in/experiences/food-wine/restaurant/restaurant-bollywood/">Restaurant Bollywood </a>at an elevation of 3,454m at Jungfraujoch in Switzerland. It has become a must-visit attraction for all tourists, especially those from India and Hindi movie lovers. A <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Bollywood-and-Indian-tourists-come-knocking">report </a>released in 2016 also indicated that in a decade, there was a 400% rise in Indian tourists in Switzerland. They also shell out an average of $330 per person a day, compared to $192 for all tourists. The trend continued over the years, with popular films becoming mini tourism ads for the place they’re shot in — be it Singapore in Krrish; Corsica in Tamasha; or one of the most popular ones, Spain in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. After Zoya Akhtar’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara hit the screens, Spain became such a popular destination among Indian tourists that a <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/did-you-know-zoya-akhtars-zindagi-na-milegi-dobara-is-a-part-of-curriculum-in-spain-colleges/articleshow/92904017.cms">65%</a> increase in tourism was reported. And the film <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/zindagi-na-milegi-dobara-spain-colleges-zoya-akhtar-195994-2014-06-06">became a case study </a>for a marketing management course. Similarly, after the release of Krrish, the number of Indian tourists grew from 6 million to 7 million in Singapore. Closer to home, Goa’s Chapora fort is famously regarded as the ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ fort. Even today, you’ll find tourists recreating the iconic scene from the movie — though it’s been 21 years since the film first released. “Murder 2 made the Three Kings Feast church in Cansualim famous, and St Jacinto Island’s popular because of John Abraham’s jumping off the bridge sequence in ‘Dhoom’,” shared writer and director Deepak Lobo with <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/dil-chahta-hai-fort-in-goa-shooting-for-films-in-goa/articleshow/35508306.cms">Times of India</a>. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The two sides of every coin" comment="subhead2" text="The two sides of every coin">The two sides of every coin</cmsannotation> If Jab We Met’s Geet popularised the idea of harem pants with tops, Dil Chahta Hai’s Akash made French beards cool. In other words, from fashion trends to tourist spots, the soft power of movies can’t be ignored. But, there’s another side to it! The massive influence that celebrities and movies hold comes with a price. Like Snapchat experienced in 2018. As per <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2018/02/22/technology/snapchat-update-kylie-jenner/index.html#:~:text=Snap%20(SNAP)%20stock%20closed%20down,else%20not%20open%20Snapchat%20anymore%3F">CNN</a>, reality TV star and socialite Kylie Jenner’s tweet, “Does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore?” led to the Snap (SNAP) stock falling 6%, which wiped about $1.3 billion off the company's market value. Ladakh’s Pangong lake became a national attraction after 3 Idiots, with a ‘3 Idiots cafe’ or ‘Rancho cafe’ greeting tourists at <a href="https://www.tripoto.com/manali/trips/pangong-lake">every corner</a>. However, the jump in tourists (from 400,000 before the film to 16,00,000 in 2011, after the film) also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/ladakhs-ecology-has-been-ruined-thanks-to-aamir-khans-3idiots/articleshow/55581434.cms">ruined </a>Ladakh’s ecology — with plastic bottles, chips wrappers, and other garbage. <div type="image" title="Litter" msid="97442335" hostid="261" sizebytes="45386"></div> After the worldwide popularity of the fantasy series Game of Thrones, Dubrovnik in Croatia saw such a rise in tourism that the city proposed <a href="https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2165976/mass-tourism-threatens-croatias-game-thrones-city-dubrovnik">limiting </a>the number of tourists to 4,000, lest it loses the UNESCO world heritage title. As per a <a href="https://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/product/W19120-PDF-ENG">case study </a>in Harvard Business Publishing, “The popularity of the television series led to overwhelming tourist traffic in the area. During the peak tourist season, the city now suffered from serious overcrowding. In addition, the city was at risk of losing its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In response, the city had begun to engage in demarketing efforts.” SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/srks-pathaan-sets-a-new-record-with-box-office-collection/articleshow/97366169.cms">SRK’s Pathaan sets a new record — over ₹200 crore collections in two day</a>s <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/percentage-of-citizens-likely-to-visit-cinemas-increased-by-150-as-per-report/articleshow/97281514.cms">Percentage of citizens likely to visit cinemas increased by 150%: LocalCircles survey</a>

Big screen effect: Of French beards, marketing case studies & littered tourist spots

<ul><li>At 9:01 am, the BSE pre-open was trading 0.23% higher, indicating a positive start for the Indian benchmark index. </li><li>Here’s a list of stocks to watch for in trade today. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Check out the latest news and updates on Business Insider.</a> </li></ul>Indian stock-market indices are likely to open on a higher note on Monday, led by positive cues from the Asian markets. At 9:01 am, the BSE pre-open was trading 0.23% higher, indicating a positive start for the Indian benchmark index. Other Asian peers were trading in the positive territory as well — the SSE Composite Index was up 0.18%, SGX Nifty gained 0.52%, and the Hang Seng Index was up 22 points. These are the stocks to watch out for during the trading session today:Power Grid The board of Power Grid Corporation of India in its meeting held December 12 approved the payment of an interim dividend of ₹5 per equity share of ₹10 each for the financial year 2020-21. The interim dividend will be paid to the members on January 8. The share price of Power Grid closed 0.26% higher on Friday. Future Retail Reliance acquired Future Retail’s hypermarket chain Big Bazaar⁠— a deal <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/future-retail-reliance-deal-bse-to-consult-sebi-after-amazons-request-heres-all-that-has-happened-so-far/articleshow/78949099.cms">challenged by Amazon</a> in Indian court⁠— is planning to open 16 more stores to take the overall count to 300 over the next three quarters. The Future Group firm, as per its expansion strategy, is expanding into the smaller tier-II cities in India, which is less impacted by the pandemic and has aspirations and an emerging consumption class. The share price of Future Retail closed 0.89% higher on Friday. Cipla Cipla on Friday announced the settlement of its patent litigation with a Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) subsidiary on Revlimid, a drug for blood cancer. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Celgene, BMS has agreed to provide Cipla with a license to manufacture and sell certain limited volumes of generic lenalidomide drugs in the US. The share price of Cipla closed 0.88% lower on Friday. KEC International The global infrastructure major has secured new orders worth ₹1,438 crore across its various businesses. The share price of KEC International closed 0.77% lower on Friday. Delta Corp Delta Corp informed exchanges that it had received approval from the Goa Investment Promotion and Facilitation Board to set up an integrated resort consisting of hotels, convention centre, multiplex cinema, retail facilities at Pernem, Goa. The share price of Delta Corp closed 2.7% higher on Friday. Yes Bank and Sical logistics Yes Bank has sold 2.56% of the total equity in Coffee Day group-owned Sical logistics. The share price of Yes Bank closed 5% lower on Friday. Central Bank of India The capital raising committee of the Central Bank of India has approved the proposal for raising capital funds up to ₹500 crore. The share price of the Central Bank of India closed 0.33% lower on Friday. Adani Power Adani Power on Saturday said electricity regulator Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) had passed two orders, which would enable its arm APML to claim revised compensation of higher coal from Maharashtra Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL). The share price of Adani Power closed 5% lower on Friday. Burger King India The shares of Burger King India will hit the bourses today. The shares will be listed on both BSE and NSE. The grey market premium suggests an upside of 85% over the issue price band set at ₹59-60. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/huawei-reportedly-worked-with-4-additional-companies-to-build-surveillance-tools-that-track-people-by-ethnicity-following-recent-revelations-that-it-tested-a-uighur-alarm/articleshow/79712815.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink"> Huawei reportedly worked with 4 additional companies to build surveillance tools that track people by ethnicity, following recent revelations that it tested a 'Uighur alarm'</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/an-iphone-factory-in-india-has-erupted-in-violence-over-a-dispute-about-workers-pay/articleshow/79707169.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">An iPhone factory in India has erupted in violence over a dispute about workers' pay</a>

Top stocks to watch — Future Retail, Power Grid, Cipla, Delta Corp, Yes Bank, Adani Power and others

The 45th <keyword id="35239" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="International-Film-Festival-of-India">International Film Festival Of India</keyword> (IFFI) starts today, and while no place could have been better than Goa to hold such a renowned film festival, here are some details that would make you want to pack your bags and go IFFI. 
 
To begin with, IFFI would show a total of 310 films, both Indian and International, for the lovers of cinema. While there are 130 Indian films, the international section would be boasting of 180 films. 
 Let’s talk about the celebrities who would be gracing the prestigious film festival in Panaji. The special guest for the inaugural ceremony is none other than the star of the millennium, <keyword id="6357912" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="amitabh-bachchan">Amitabh Bachchan</keyword>. If that was not enough, the Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year would be given to Rajnikanth, whom we all know is nothing less than a God for his lovers and followers. 
 The ceremony would be hosted by actress <keyword id="818563" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sheena-Chohan">Sheena Chohan</keyword>, who confirmed the same via her <keyword id="6354616" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword> handle. “Happy to announce that I am selected to host the prestigious 45th International Film Festival of India, where @SrBachchan and Rajnikanth Sir are the chief guests. It's going to be a whole new cinematically enriching experience for 10 days in Goa [sic],” she added. 
 The motion logo for <keyword id="2564009" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="IFFI-2014">IFFI 2014</keyword> has been designed by National award winning director <keyword id="1467457" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shaji-Karun">Shaji Karun</keyword> and is 30-second long. As a tribute to the masters of world cinema, films of veteran actors like <keyword id="10103" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="charlie-chaplin">Charlie Chaplin</keyword> and <keyword id="331918" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Francois-Truffaut">Francois Truffaut</keyword> would also be screened at IFFI in the special “Restored Classics” section. 
 
You can find the details and schedule of the film festival <a href="http://www.iffi.nic.in/FINAL-IST_2014.pdf">here</a>. 
 
Here is a list of major awards and the prize money that IFFI gives to the winners: 
 
Life Time Achievement Award 
Cash prize of Rs 10,00,000, a certificate, a shawl and a scroll. 
 
Indian Centenary Personality of the Year 
Cash prize of Rs 10,00,000, citation, a certificate, a medal with silver peacock on it and a shawl. 
 
Centenary Award 
Cash prize of Rs 10,00,000, a Silver Peacock, a certificate. 
 
In the International Competition Awards, the awards are as such: 
 
Best Film A Cash prize of Rs 40,00,000, which is equally shared by the <keyword id="1602307" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="director-and-the-producer">Director and the Producer</keyword>. 
 
Best Director 
Certificate and a cash prize of Rs 15,00,000. 
 
Best Actor (Male) 
Silver Peacock, Certificate and a cash prize of Rs 10,00,000. 
 
Best Actor (Female) 
Silver Peacock, Certificate and a cash prize of Rs 10,00,000. 
 
<keyword id="210702" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Special-Jury">Special Jury</keyword> Award 
Silver Peacock, Certificate and a cash prize of Rs 15,00,000. 
(Image: IFFI 2014)

IFFI 2014: Here Is What It’s All About

(Eds: Combining related stories) New Delhi, May 15 () The nationwide tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases crossed 85,000 on Friday with more people testing positive for the deadly virus infection from Kashmir to Kerala and from Karnataka to Bihar, even as indications emerged about greater relaxations in the fourth phase of the lockdown beginning Monday to contain economic costs of the pandemic. Going by the numbers declared by different states and union territories, India has now surpassed China's official tally of 82,933 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Though some new cases have emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan -- the epicentre of the deadly virus -- less than 100 people are now undergoing treatment across China, which recorded 4,633 deaths due to COVID-19 but more than 78,000 have been discharged after recovery, as per their official data. Globally, more than 3 lakh people have died and nearly 45 lakh have tested positive for the deadly virus since its emergence in Wuhan last December. While China and several other countries have begun reopening their economies, fresh concerns have begun mounting about a possible re-emergence of the virus. India is now the 11th most affected nation in the world, but each one of the top-ten have one lakh or more cases. The US tops the charts with more than 14 lakh cases, followed by Russia, UK, Spain, Italy and Brazil with over 2 lakh cases each; and France, Germany, Turkey and Iran having over 1 lakh cases each. In its morning 8 AM update, the Union Health Ministry said the death toll due to COVID-19 across India has risen to 2,649 and the number of cases has climbed to 81,970, registering an increase of 100 deaths and 3,967 cases in the last 24 hours since Thursday morning. There are more than 51,000 active cases, while nearly 28,000 have recovered, giving a recovery rate of over 34 per cent. However, a tally of numbers reported by states and UTs, as of 9 PM, put the total number of confirmed cases across the country much higher at 85,538. This also showed at least 2,679 deaths and nearly 30,000 recoveries. Jammu &amp; Kashmir, Bihar and Karnataka breached the 1,000-mark in terms of the number of people having tested positive, while testing and containment measures were ramped up in places like, Kerala, Goa and Manipur that were being seen as being mostly virus-free till a few days back. Even a quarantine centre had to be sealed in Manipur. On the other hand, large numbers of cases continued to get detected in big urban clusters. Maharashtra, the most-affected state, reported 1,576 new cases to take its tally to 29,100, while its death toll rose to 1,068. Tamil Nadu crossed the 10,000 mark with 434 new cases, while Gujarat saw 340 more people testing positive to push its tally to 9,932. According to the Union Health Ministry, 30 municipal areas account for 79 per cent of India's coronavirus infection caseload. At a meeting of a group of ministers chaired by Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, it was stressed that the focus of COVID-19 management strategy needs to be on the states with the highest number of confirmed cases and fatalities. Also, focus is needed on treatment and case fatality management, for which timely detection and contact tracing were the best way forward. The Finance Ministry in the meantime unveiled the third booster dose, mainly consisting of measures aimed at helping farmers and for reforms in agriculture and allied sectors, of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Rs 20 lakh crore 'special package' for making India self-reliant in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Modi said the third tranche will help the rural economy and boost farmers' income. India has been under a lockdown since March 25, which was initially scheduled to end on April 14 but has got extended twice -- first till May 3 and then till May 17 with some relaxations. A final decision on the fourth phase is expected soon, but officials said there could be greater relaxations and more flexibility for states and union territories while measures being explored include gradual reopening of the railways and domestic airlines. Schools, colleges, malls and cinema halls may not be allowed to open anywhere in the country, but salons, barber shops and optical shops may be allowed everywhere barring COVID-19 containment areas. E-retailers may be allowed to deliver non-essential items too. Final guidelines will be issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs after going through the suggestions of various state governments. During his last interaction with chief ministers, Modi had asked them to submit their suggestions by May 15. According to officials, Punjab, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Assam and Telangana want the lockdown to continue, while some states have sought powers to decide the zoning of districts -- green, orange and red -- as per the COVID-19 situation. This request of the state governments may be accepted so that they can restrict or allow movement of people or economic activities in a particular place depending on the ground situation, an official told . Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address to the nation on Monday, had said that the lockdown 4.0 will have a "completely different form", with new rules. "No state wants complete withdrawal of lockdown but all want gradual resumption of economic activities," the official said. Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka are among some states which are not in favour of complete resumption of train and air services, at least till May-end. The railways have already started special trains to 15 destinations from Delhi and have been running several hundred 'Shramik Special' trains from different parts of the country to various places for transportation of migrant workers stranded due to the lockdown. Air India is also engaged in evacuation of thousands of Indians stranded abroad during the lockdown under the 'Vande Bharat Mission'. However, there have been cases of people testing positive after reaching their native places using these trains and flights. Officials said local trains, buses and metro services may start running with limited capacity in non-containment areas of red zones. Autos and taxis are also expected to be allowed in all zones with restrictions on the number of passengers, barring areas identified as 'containment zones'. Maharashtra has favoured strict lockdown measures in Mumbai, its suburbs and Pune, and a complete ban on inter-state and inter-district transport. However, Gujarat wants resumption of economic activities in major urban centres. Delhi, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have also favoured opening up of economic activities. Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, which have seen a spike in the COVID-19 cases after arrival of migrant workers, want the lockdown to continue with strict curbs on movement of people. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has urged Modi not to open state boundaries for the next few months, except for migrants or essential services. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the state has written to the Centre urging extension of the lockdown by two more weeks. Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said the Centre may announce many relaxations in the lockdown after May 17. The Arunachal Pradesh government has decided to resume state transport bus service to various destinations from May 18, while the Haryana Roadways has already resumed bus services on select routes within the state. PLB PM ACB SKC DP MJH ANZ TR KSU UPL SUN VSD ENM NAB BJBJBJ

COVID-19: India surpasses China tally with 85,000 confirmed cases; Bihar, K'taka, J&K cross 1k mark

​The Oscar fights never go out of fashion in India. We have not made our mark there yet in spite of many Indian connections with movies like Life of Pi and <keyword id="32892" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Slumdog-Millionaire">Slumdog Millionaire</keyword>. But when it comes to selecting India’s official entry for the Foreign Language Film category at the <keyword id="9344" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Academy-Awards">Academy Awards</keyword>, the heat is full on. This time, there were as many as 22 contenders and some entries like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, English Vinglish, Celluloid, Shabdo, Ship of Theseus and <keyword id="6354603" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Kamal-Haasan">Kamal Haasan</keyword>’s Vishwaroopam created a lot of buzz. But the final battle royal seemed to have boiled down to just two – Mumbaikar <keyword id="1539946" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ritesh-Batra">Ritesh Batra</keyword>’s <keyword id="1678680" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="The-Lunchbox">The Lunchbox</keyword> and Goa-born <keyword id="1602536" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gyan-Correa">Gyan Correa</keyword>’s <keyword id="1602537" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="The-Good-Road">The Good Road</keyword>. However, The Lunchbox lost to The Good Road, which earlier bagged the national award for the best Gujarati feature film. Correa’s flick was picked by a 19-member jury, appointed by the <keyword id="291689" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Film-Federation-of-India">Film Federation of India</keyword> (FFI). 
 
What they tweeted 
A Press release said the decision had been unanimous, but congratulatory and disgruntled tweets followed. Here’s a look at some of the significant ones. 
 
Gujarat chief minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>: Delighted to know that Gujarati film The Good Road has been chosen to represent India at Oscars. My best wishes. 
 
<keyword id="7929" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anurag-Kashyap">Anurag Kashyap</keyword> (the film-maker co-produced The Lunchbox with <keyword id="197931" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Guneet-Monga">Guneet Monga</keyword>): Feeling very, very disappointed, can’t comment on the film I have not seen, but it better make it to final five… I don’t know who the federation is. But it goes to show, why we completely lack the understanding to make films that can travel across borders… I hope and pray I am wrong and it actually is a film that knocks the socks off everyone… We should then make a clean policy, you want to send the best film, then send the national award winner. Or send the one most likely to win... Anyway, disappointment and anger aside… let’s go back to make cinema… 
 
<keyword id="3778" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Karan-Johar">Karan Johar</keyword> (The director-producer turned presenter for The Lunchbox): Really shocked and disappointed… #LUNCHBOX had every factor working in its favour... we may have just lost our golden chance… SAD!!! 
 
Ritesh Batra (Director, The Lunchbox): Congrats to The Good Road. Hope it makes it all the way, else it will be a lost chance by FFI-appointed jury that lacks vision. Hope I am wrong… 
 
The Good Road and The Lunchbox: Head-to-head 
Some industry experts are not too enthusiastic and feel that The Lunchbox would have been a better Oscar choice for several reasons. So here is a head-to-head for our readers, along with some lesser-known facts. 
 
Auteur cinema is gaining prominence. Written by Correa himself, The Good Road is a documentary-style collage of stories woven around the highway where the protagonists lose their way, struggle on their personal quests and evolve in a way that touches the heart. The Lunchbox, on the other hand, brings to life the ever-present Mumbai dabbawalas (tiffin carriers) and a bitter-sweet story of bonding that starts with a misplaced lunchbox (according to a Harvard University study, the delivery system is so excellent that just one in a million lunch boxes will go to a wrong address). Each film reflects its director’s vision instead treading the beaten path. 
 
Both Correa and Batra did it hands-on. It was real-life research for both the directors. Correa got into a truck and went on a journey, getting to the core of things before he created his story. Batra worked as a <keyword id="415857" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dabbawala">dabbawala</keyword> for a week to get the hang of it. 
 
But they come from different industries. That’s right. Batra studied Economics and worked as a consultant for Deloitte. He left the job to join the Graduate Film Program at New York University, but dropped out after a year and a half due to fund crunch. Correa is from the advertising space but decided to have a go at film-making. 
 
In spite of debacle, The Lunchbox gets a bite of the global pie. According to media reports, it has already been sold to 30 different territories globally and could be the first Indian film with 3 foreign producers – ASAP Films of France, Rohfilm of Germany and Cinemosaic of America, along with <keyword id="66984" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="NFDC">NFDC</keyword>, Sikhya <keyword id="4578" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="entertainment">Entertainment</keyword>, Dharma Productions and DAR Films from India. It can also be the first Indian movie to be released across 100 screens in Germany. Incidentally, the film was made on a shoestring budget of $1.5 million. On the other hand, NFDC produced The Good Road, but it doesn’t have an <keyword id="1878880" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="American-distributor">American distributor</keyword> yet. 
 
But what about Oscar compatibility? The Lunchbox might have got a favourable push at the Oscars, had it been chosen. For one, <keyword id="16207" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Irrfan-Khan">Irrfan Khan</keyword> is a familiar name (his roles in The Warrior, Mighty Heart, Slumdog Millionaire and The Amazing Spider-man certainly helped) and the movie has already received some rev reviews at Cannes, Telluride, Toronto and India. Moreover, <keyword id="6411012" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sony-Pictures">Sony Pictures</keyword> Classics will be distributing the film in the US and that could have been another plus. The Good Road has one Oscar connection, though. Its sound designer Resul Pookutty has already won an Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire in 2009. 
 
Bottom line: Till date, only three <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> movies made it to the nomination stage of the Oscar. These include Mehboob Khan’s Mother India (1957), <keyword id="7999" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mira-Nair">Mira Nair</keyword>’s Salaam Bombay (1988) and <keyword id="17233" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ashutosh-Gowariker">Ashutosh Gowariker</keyword>’s Lagaan (2001). The Good Road belongs to the art house pack, but going by the poor track record of other ‘arty’ films (Salim Ahamed’s Abu, Son of Adam in 2011, <keyword id="82569" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Anusha-Rizvi">Anusha Rizvi</keyword>’s Peepli Live in 2010 and <keyword id="33044" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Kalpana-Lajmi">Kalpana Lajmi</keyword>’s Rudaali in 1993), will Gollywood’s (a concoction of Gujarat and Bollywood) tryst with Oscar produce something more fruitful this time? Also, will it be possible for the Lunchbox team to push the movie at the Oscars even without the government’s backing? Let us wait and watch how ‘independent’ our independent cinema is in reality. 
 
With additional input from Agencies 
Image courtesy: Indiatimes

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